Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$3 higher, with quality packages advancing $4-$6. Feedlot operators shrugged off the weaker live cattle futures as feed grain prices came under pressure. Cattle brokers were carrying a full deck of orders, which allowed for limited slippage. Feedlots are anxious to secure ownership early in the […] Read more
Tag Archives feedlots — page 31

Klassen: Strong demand drives yearlings higher

U.S. livestock: Cattle and hog futures both mixed ahead of USDA reports
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures were mixed on Friday, with the front-month contract firming slightly while deferreds eased as traders staked out positions ahead of the U.S. government’s closely watched inventory and Cattle on Feed reports. Pre-report positioning also was noted in fed cattle and hog contracts, with both of those markets […] Read more

Klassen: Large U.S. supplies weigh on Canadian feeder market
Compared to last week, feeder cattle prices were down $3 to as much as $6 across all weight categories. Most auction barns were closed last week for summer holidays and only small volumes traded in the key regions of Alberta. Feedyards are also running a skeleton crew, providing some much-needed time off after a busy […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Early-week cash prices buoy CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by initial prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle and short-covering after recent market losses, traders said. Thinly traded June futures, which will expire on Friday, led advances. Some investors bought that contract and simultaneously sold deferred months in a trading strategy […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Markets watch Japan wheat ban, trade fights
CNS Canada — A Japanese ban on Canadian wheat might eventually push more wheat into feed markets, but traders say that’s not happening so far. Japan, Canada’s No. 2 wheat buyer after the U.S., instituted the ban last Friday after genetically modified wheat was discovered growing in Alberta. GM wheat is not approved for commercial […] Read more

Klassen: Weaker corn, barley prices support feeder market
Western Canadian yearling prices traded $3 to as much as $8 above week-ago levels while calves were steady to $2 higher. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $140-$143, unchanged from week-ago levels; however, a fortuitous $5 bounce in the U.S. fed cattle market bolstered buying enthusiasm for replacements. Feeder cattle futures […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Short-covering boosts CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday after short-covering and fund buying reversed the previous session’s losses, said traders. In a trading strategy known as bull spreads, traders bought June and simultaneously sold deferred months, stirred by firmer wholesale beef values and future’s discount to expected cash prices […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Barley prices rising for northern Alberta feedlots
CNS Canada — While feed barley prices are holding steady in the Lethbridge area, further north around Edmonton, prices are starting to climb. “We’re starting to see already just difficulty with loading here and there and buyers getting caught off-guard with not getting barley coming in when they needed it to happen. And that’s spurring […] Read more

U.S. cattle placements hit 16-year high for February
Chicago | Reuters — Ranchers drove 7.3 per cent more cattle into U.S. feedlots in February than a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Friday, the most for the month in 16 years. Persistent drought in the U.S. Plains withered winter wheat grazing pastures, which forced beef cattle into feedyards in states […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder cattle prices gaining momentum
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were steady to $4 higher while calves and grass cattle markets were relatively unchanged. Once again, there was a wide range of prices across the Prairies as feedlots adjust to higher feed grain prices. Secondly, buyers were quick to discount fleshier cattle; backgrounded calves fed too much […] Read more